1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein relate to an optical module and a method of making the optical module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advancement in the technology of high-speed, high-volume communication networks and communication control equipment has prompted the wide-spread use of optical fibers for communication and transmission purposes. Generally, an optical transceiver for conversion between an electrical signal and an optical signal is used at the connection point between an optical fiber and a device. Such an optical transceiver has an optical module providing an optical waveguide between an optical fiber and a photoelectric conversion device.
Conventional optical modules are comprised of a large number of components, which requires a large number of production steps at the time of assembly, thereby giving rise to the problem of excessive production steps. In the case of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the forming of an optical waveguide involves such steps as filling a groove with core material for an optical fiber and pasting an overclad film on the core material in the groove. Further, an additional step such as the UV (ultraviolet) curing of the pasted overclad film is involved.
Against this background, it is required for an optical module used in an optical transceiver that the number of components is reduced and that the production steps are simplified.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to reduce production steps for making an optical module.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-20426
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-309113
[Non-Patent Document 1] “Multimode Micro Lens Array,” [online], Searched on Sep. 18, 2015, the Internet (URL:https://echannel.omron247.com/marcom/pdfcatal.n sf/26d51fcb808d916986256f7e00791221/43f35572df448778 86256fb300587440/$FILE/D39P1L0205.pdf)